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West Coast Fever captain Courtney Bruce says Fever need to work on stopping the two-goal super shot after loss

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Mitchell WoodcockThe West Australian
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VideoWest Coast Fever star Verity Charles intercepts a pass in the final round against Adelaide Thunderbirds at Brisbane's Nissan Arena.

West Coast Fever captain Courtney Bruce concedes they need to work on their two-goal defence ahead of a must-win minor semifinal against NSW Swifts on the Sunshine Coast on Sunday.

Adelaide teenager Georgie Horjus sunk eight two-goal shots, including four in the final quarter, as the Thunderbirds cost Fever a top-two chance with a shock 64-63 win at Brisbane’s Nissan Arena on Saturday night.

Fever would have won the game 62-55 if not for the super shot rule, with Bruce (11 gains, nine deflections and six rebounds) and star shooter Jhaniele Fowler (54 goals) starring once again.

The WA team could simply not stop Horjus in the final five minutes though, as she dragged her side from eight goals down midway through the final term to a thrilling win.

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“It is definitely something we need to work on defensively,” Bruce said.

“The two-goal shot is still an adjustment for the defensive end. Georgie was on fire and we did need to find a way to stop her and shut her down.

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“We’ll definitely have a look going into Swifts, especially knowing that Helen (Housby), Sam (Wallace) and Sophie (Garbin) can shoot those two-goal shots if they need.

“It’s just us being consistent for 60 minutes, knowing that we’ve got to work your shooters into the ground so that in those five minute periods they’re fatigued and taking the two-goal shot is a lot more pressured.”

West Coast Fever skipper Courtney Bruce prepares to pass the ball down the court.
Camera IconWest Coast Fever skipper Courtney Bruce prepares to pass the ball down the court. Credit: Albert Perez/Getty Images

Bruce said while it was not ideal to lose the week before finals, she backed her team to bounce back against the Swifts.

“You want to have some confidence and good momentum heading into finals, but finals are a whole other ball game and everything’s reset,” she said.

“I think, as much as we would have loved to have won and taken that momentum in, we know what we need to do against Swifts.

“We’ve had some good battles against them this year, we’ve just got to find that winning formula we’ve had over the last few weeks again.

“As much as it sucks that lost, I’d rather this than a blow-out game where we were caught absolutely napping.

“We were exposed at times, so I think it’s going to give us a good look at what we need to fix going into the Swifts game.”

Melbourne Vixens warmed up for their major semifinal clash against Sunshine Coast Lightning with a 58-54 win over the Queensland team at USC Stadium today .

Vixens shooter Mwai Kumwenda scored 44 goals at 98 per cent accuracy, as the minor premiers continued to cement themselves as the championship favourites.

The Vixens and Lightning will meet again on Saturday from 11am, while Fever battle the Swifts on Sunday from 10am.

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